Letters to the Editor October 2016

October 1, 2016

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Dear Editor:

In the 25 years that my wife and I have lived in our neighborhood, we have witnessed more change in the last two than the previous 23 years.

Our once quiet house is quiet no more, we are forced to endure the near-constant sounds of construction: hammering, sawing, compressors and cement truck noises intrude on our lifestyles nearly every day, even on Sundays.

Our backyard used to be completely private, we could go out and use our hot tub or pool without concern. Now, one of our neighbors has “remodeled” the area-appropriate house and replaced it with an over-sized monster with an upstairs window that looks directly into our yard.

We used to have a nice view of a small stand of bamboo that would sway nicely in the breeze, now another neighbor has built an ADU in his backyard and that view is now gone.

I know that the local government enjoys the additional income from all the various licensing fees and the new tax appraisals, but they have completely ignored the people who were here before the people who helped create all the wonderful neighborhoods in Portland.

It seems to me that people are moving to Portland, seeking the house they want in the location they want.

When they can’t find that, they find a house they can afford in the neighborhood they like, then proceed to modify that house into something that doesn’t fit in, that brings in even more traffic, and ends up destroying a little bit of the charm that made the neighborhood so attractive to them in the first place.

Eric Couch

Dear Editor:

Thank you so much for posting The Madison High School Runion on your calendar.

It was greatly appreciated and our event was successful thanks to neighborhood papers like yours who are willing to share our event info.